German Survey
Our Teutonic friends have been busy lately in collecting research
covering a wide range of acupuncture effects and techniques. From one
side of the pond to the other, a lot of great investigation is being
done and I have included links to some of my favorites.
Measurement of acupuncture needle grasp at acupuncture points and
control points
http://www.akupunktur-aktuell.de/fb0112_1.htm
One of the most controversial aspects of acupuncture is whether the
location of acupuncture needling sites is important, ie: does the
needling of classically defined acupuncture points have an enhanced
therapeutic effect as compared with the needling of any other set of
points on the body. Resolving this issue is of fundamental importance,
since the specificity of acupuncture points is implied in some of the
most basic principles underlying the traditional practice of
acupuncture.
These results provide objective evidence that acupuncture points have
different biomechanical behavior than control points. Whether this is
due to anatomical and/or physiological differences between acupuncture
points and surrounding tissues, and what these differences are,
remains unknown. Our results also show that needle manipulation
strongly influences needle grasp, and does so at control points as
well as at acupuncture points. We are planning to use the results of
this study as a first step to understand the mechanisms underlying
needle grasp, and the therapeutic significance of both de qi and
acupuncture points.
As someone trained in TCM, I have always believed if there is no Qi,
there is no treatment. Perhaps it is Western programming to believe
"no pain, no gain," but I see better results with patients who report
feeling sensation over ones that feel nothing. In my experience, I
find the patient will have the Qi sensation a moment after I feel the
needle "grab." For those patients that I know are sensitive, I try to
keep the needle positioned at that threshold between the grab and the
sensation so that they can reap the maximum benefit with the minimum
discomfort. Of course, there are those others that can't get enough Qi
either, or as one of my patients says, "Give me the ju-ju!"
DESCRIPTION AND VALIDATION OF A NON-INVASIVE PLACEBO ACUPUNCTURE
PROCEDURE
http://www.akupunktur-aktuell.de/fb0202_1.htm
Objective: To evaluate a simulated acupuncture technique for use in
randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of acupuncture for
low back pain.
Experimental Design: In the first experiment, subjects received six
insertions of real needles and six pokes with a toothpick in a
guidetube in a two-period crossover design. In the second experiment,
subjects were randomized to receive either a complete treatment with
real acupuncture needles or a simulated treatment using a toothpick in
a guidetube.
Conclusions: The simulated acupuncture procedure evaluated in this
study represents a reasonable control treatment for acupuncture-na�ve
individuals in randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of
acupuncture for low back pain.
Having sat in on some design planning for a few different research
projects, I know the use of sham acupuncture is a controversy. A
placebo pill in a drug trial is not analogous to random needling. This
sounds like a promising (an somewhat humerous) alternative for those
who have research aspirations.
CLINICAL STUDY OF HERPES ZOSTER TREATMENT USING ACUPUNCTURE OF
THUMB-JOINT ACUPOINT AND FIRE-TWINKLING METHOD
http://www.akupunktur-aktuell.de/fb0224_1.htm
This paper is the summary of clinical results of using Acupuncture of
Thumb-Joint Acupoint and Fire-Twinkling for 27 cases of Herpes Zoster,
a virulent skin disease called "Yao Chan Huo Dan" and "She Du Cang" in
traditional Chinese medicine. The condition usually results from
decreased immune function, emotional depression, dietary disorder,
malfunctional spleen and liver, or virus infection. The course of the
illness lasts from two to fifteen days. The purpose of using
Acupuncture of Thumb-joint Acupoint locally is to stimulate the
infected region, improve the overall body immune system, and thus kill
the virus using the body's own immune functionality. Additionally, the
Fire-Twinkling method utilizes the flame's radiating and heating
effect to enlarge local blood vessels, accelerate blood circulation
and energize body cells.
The outcome of the treatment and observation study showed that
Acupuncture of Thumb-Joint Acupoint and Fire-Twinkling was a very
effective treatment method for Herpes Zoster: among the 27 cases
studied, 24 (88.8%) were completely cured, 2 cases (7.4%) showed
evident improvement, and only one case (3.8%) showed no sign of
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